Government House in New Zealand
The Beginning:
To really start out, New Zealand is a kind of democracy, where the members in the parliament are freely and fairly chosen. People who are 18 and older and permanent in the area can vote. They don't have to, but they usually do. New Zealand's government is a lot like Canada's, because both are constitutional monarchies.
New Zealand has a single "chamber" of parliament which is made up of the House of Representatives, which generally has 120 "MPs"(members of parliament), and the Governor-General (who doesn't actually join the "house"). The house is elected for a three year period, using the (MMP) system (mixed member proportional system). Every New Zealand citizen who is employed as an elector gets a chance to be a candidate for election as an MP. The next main election is going to take place around the 15th of November, in 2008.
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy, which means that the ruler is given only a certain amount of power from the people. I'll explain: The leader is only the leader so that he can serve everyone. The people give him a certain amount of rules and regulations as to how much power he gets. Really, the ones in control are the people, but they need someone who will rule over them in an organized fashion. They need someone who will pass laws, and help the people. The Queen of New Zealand, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State. The person who represents the queen in New Zealand is the Governor-General who has all the powers of the Queen in relation to New Zealand. Even though an important process of government, the Queen and the Governor-General remain politically neutral and do not get involved in the political contest. The Governor-General does play a pretty important role in the elections, the life of Parliament, and the formation of a good government.
People in Charge:
The Governor-General of New Zealand is Anand Satyanand. All the Governor-General's duties are done in the name of the Queen. His common duties are appointing ministers and judges, dissolving Parliament, granting assent to legislation, issuing writs for elections and bestowing honours. He also travels all over New Zealand, opening ceremonies and services.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is Helen Clark. She was elected in 1999, in November. She is the leader of the Cabinet, and has a quite big role. She, like in Canada, was appointed by the Governor-General. She can call up elections by notifying the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament.
The Speaker of the house is Margaret Wilson, who was confirmed as Speaker in 2005.
System of Government:
I'm going to explain the system of government in New Zealand. It starts with the Head of State, who is the Queen. As I have said above and below, the Governor-General represents the Queen. Next is Constitutional arrangements. The Constitutional arrangements are the laws and rules that were put into place when the Constitution began. New Zealand doesn't have a written Constitution that is bigger than the laws of Parliament.
Structure of Court System:
The court system is a little like a pyramid. The top of the pyramid is the Supreme Court. Below it, descending in order are the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the district courts. All of these are defined by stature, which is a document in which an enactment is expressed. Enactment means to make into law. Add it all up and it will make sense.
The Parliament
This is going to tell you everything that's in the parliament, and what everything does.
We'll start with the Sovereign. It is represented by the Governor-General, and is really important. They assent to bills that are passed in the House of Representatives so that they become Acts of Parliament.
Then there's the Speaker of the House. The speaker of the house is the supervisor of the House of Representatives. The speaker represents the House to the Sovereign and the Governor-General, and to other organizations. They act as a landlord for the Parliament’s buildings, chairs the meetings of the House, makes rulings on points of procedure, they just do a whole lot of stuff.
Then there's the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the head and leader of the Government. They have to deliver the Prime Minister's statement, account for Government activity answering questions directed to the Prime Minister during question time, and the Prime Minister leads the Government's contribution to the Government's debates. Basically, the Prime Minister answers questions, says speeches, and is a leader.
Next on the line is....well, there's a lot down the line, so maybe I'll be more quick and not as detailed. There are the Ministers, who are appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Ministers basically introduce bills to the House, and they also answer questions, like the Prime Minister.
Then there's the Leader of the House. The leader is a minister appointed by the Prime Minister and is in charge of Government business. The leader pretty much just organizes everything.
There are many more people who work in the Parliament, but these are the main people who mainly do make a difference.
There are three branches of government, and this diagram below explains it all:
The Government is formed from the House of Representatives, who are elected democratically. This system is based on the fact that all the power is evenly put across three branches of government: the Parliament, the Executive, and the Judiciary. Parliament makes the law, the Executive conducts the law, then the Judiciary makes the law, through the courts.
Conclusion
To conclude this website, I have to say that I now understand Canada's government even more, by doing New Zealand's government. It has been interesting learning about how the government functions work. All I can really conclude with is that I hope that you, dear reader, has learned a lot about New Zealand's government, which is a huge part of their life, and that you found this interesting. You know, a human mind can't ever know all the knowledge there is to know, but we can try. I hope that this website has helped you gain more knowledge in your ever-growing mind!
